personally I like it, I would do la Canne if there were a school nearby

Yea... that's just downright silly.

I don't mind the very big gross-motor motions so much - including all the spins that one of those participants is want to do. But the behind-the-back, throw-up-in-air, and under-the-leg hand exchanges shows an utterly ignorant disconnect with all things martial. Even these "advanced" practitioners stumble with those hand exchanges, and that's with the opportunity to do a dozen takes so you pick the one that looks best. Let's throw a little adrenaline in that situation. You want to face someone who is prepared to beat the cr@p out of you and maybe send you to your maker? All that fancy fine-motor coordination sheet goes out the window. That's just ignorant. It is an offense to all things martial.

It makes me want to face one of these participants and smack them upside the head a half dozen times. But martial masturbation? Plenty of that going on. Whenever my students are sparring and one of them does something "flash" like that, I stop the match and tell the other person they've been insulted. I tell them it's an invitation to beat stuffing out of their opponent - with emotions skillfully held in check. *

I'd rather learn bellydancing from Rory Miller's wife - complete with a coin belt on. At least there I'd be learning something useful (better and more adroit management of the core).

- Bill

* The flash act itself may an emotional hijacking ploy, possibly sending their opponent into a non-ideal neuro-hormonal state. You're either dealing with a dummy, or someone who's dumb like a fox.

Yeah there are lots of combat sports that I don't take particularly seriously, but I love to watch. La Canne is one of themhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFqh4IKSA64..I think I would prefer to do that than bellydancing and I suspect many onlookers would agree my choice

I do like playing with sticks and that just kinda feeds my interest, I've stolen stuff from every art I've practiced or watched over the years